Dan Aykroyd Trivia

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Was offered the role of "D-Day" in Animal House (1978), but turned it down. (imdb.com)

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. pg. 32-33. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 (imdb.com)

Was very close with River Phoenix during the filming of "Sneakers". Aykroyd can even been seen wearing the shirt of Phoenix's band, Aleka's Attic, in the movie. (imdb.com)

He used to refer to the green Slimer ghost from Ghost Busters (1984) as "the ghost of John Belushi", as Slimer's party animal personality reminded him very much of his friend. (imdb.com)

Ranked #14 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100] (imdb.com)

Said that his original finished script for The Blues Brothers (1980) was over 300 pages long, roughly the size of a phone book. He even sent it to director John Landis in the guise of a phone book as a joke. (imdb.com)

He is a huge fan of the TV Series "Dragnet" and the show's star, Jack Webb. So much so that many of his characters are able to rapidly spit out technical information just as Webb did reciting laws and regulations as Sgt. Joe Friday. Some examples of this are: 1. In "The Blues Brothers" when Elwood describes the specifications of the Bluesmobile. 2. In "Ghostbusters" when Dr. Raymond Stanz "orders" the demi-god Zuul to leave New York. 3. In "1941" when Sgt. Tree teaches the Ned Beatty character how to load and fire the anti-aircraft gun. 4. During the "SNL" Weekend Update whenever he would verbally spar with Jane Curtain. (imdb.com)

He was awarded the C.M. (Member of the Order of Canada) on October 21, 1998 for his services to entertainment, scientific research, Carleton University, and Kingston, Ontario, Canada. (imdb.com)

Aykroyd and John Belushi were scheduled to present the first annual Best Visual Effects Oscar at the 1982 Academy Awards, but Belushi died weeks before the ceremony. Aykroyd presented the award alone, and stated from the podium: "My partner would have loved to have been here tonight to present this award, since he was a bit of a Visual Effect himself." (imdb.com)

Spends every Canada Day (July 1) performing some sort of civic duty in Kingston, Ontario and one year was appointed a Citizenship Judge where he sworn in some immigrants as Canadian citizens. (imdb.com)

Is portrayed by Dan Di Julio in Gilda Radner: It's Always Something (2002) (TV). (imdb.com)

He and Bill Murray resumed their Ghostbusters roles to visit a terminally ill child who was a fan of the film and wanted to meet them. (imdb.com)

His original idea for Ghost Busters (1984) was set in the future, where an army of Ghostbusters fought hordes of ghosts. (imdb.com)

Owns Dan Aykroyd's Wine, an Ontario-based distillery/vineyard and plans to open up for the market in 2008. His idea for the name he got from Paul Newman. (imdb.com)

Daughters with Donna Dixon; Danielle (b. 1989) and Kingston Belle (b. 1993). (imdb.com)

A scene was deleted from Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979) where his character, Sgt. Frank Tree, met John Belushi's character, Wild Bill Kelso. The scene took place right after the tank was dropped into the water by the Japanese sub: Wild Bill was swimming out in the sub's direction just as Frank emerges from the top of the sinking tank, spots Wild Bill and they look at each other curiously, as if recognizing each other, a nod to their real life friendship. It was the only scene in the film where they interacted. (imdb.com)

Came up with the character of Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute, when he lived with former "Saturday Night Live" (1975) writer Rosie Shuster. He first did it to entertain Rosie at home. (imdb.com)

A third daughter with wife Donna Dixon, Stella Irene August, was born on April 5, 1998, weighing 6 lb. (imdb.com)

He and M. Night Shyamalan, are the only two men to direct themselves in performances that "won" them a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Aykroyd "won" the award for, and also directed, the film Nothing But Trouble (1991). (imdb.com)

Many sources state that he was married in the 1970s to a woman named Maureen Lewis and had three sons (Mark, Lloyd and Oscar). However, the marriage never occurred and the three kids never existed. What happened was that before Aykroyd became famous, he filled out a questionnaire from the publishers of Who's Who and made up a phony biography complete with a wife and kids. (imdb.com)

He's the first male regular cast member of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) to be nominated for an Academy Award. (Joan Cusack was the very first regular cast member of the show to be Oscar-nominated.) (imdb.com)

As a child in the early 1960s, he was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome and Asperger syndrome. The symptoms had mostly subsided by the time he was 14. (imdb.com)

His parents are Lorraine and Peter Aykroyd (not to be confused with his younger brother Peter Aykroyd). His father is best known as P.H. Aykroyd. (imdb.com)

Is ambidextrous, as is evident by his writing left-handed during the examination scene in Spies Like Us (1985). (imdb.com)

Is a big fan of The Beach Boys and his first piece of writing was a sketch that appeared in the 1976 documentary The Beach Boys: It`s OK (1976) (TV). (imdb.com)

Supports MUFON, a UFO study group. (imdb.com)

He has such a fascination with both police officers and criminals, one of the writers from the original "Saturday Night Live" (1975) said his ultimate fantasy was to commit a crime, then arrest himself for it. (imdb.com)

He has owned or co-owned several bars and restaurants, including the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City and the House of Blues chain. (imdb.com)

His right eye is blue and his left eye is brown. (imdb.com)

He met John Belushi in a Chicago speakeasy that was a favorite night spot of his and put on a blues record to play in the background while he and Belushi discussed the possibility of Aykroyd joining "Saturday Night Live" (1975). Not only did they hit it off and become good friends, Belushi became fascinated with the blues that was being played in the background because, to Aykroyd`s surprise, the Chicago-born Belushi was primarily a fan of heavy metal. Aykroyd`s familiarizing Belushi with blues music eventually led to them forming their popular "Blues Brothers" act, with a little input from then SNL music director Howard Shore. (imdb.com)

Received the Order of Canada in 1999. (imdb.com)

Proposed to Donna Dixon on Fran Drescher`s porch. Drescher played a major role in getting them together from the start. (imdb.com)

Has a "Blues Brothers" type band with John Belushi`s brother, James Belushi. (imdb.com)

Though he has made numerous appearances on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) since leaving the show in 1979, he did not actually host it until the 2002-2003 season finale. (imdb.com)

After working together on three films, Jamie Lee Curtis called him the best "screen kisser" who ever had a scene with her. (imdb.com)

Once helped to subdue a drunk and disorderly passenger on a Montreal-to-Los Angeles flight. (imdb.com)

Holds an advisory commission with the Police Department in Payne City, Georgia. (imdb.com)

Has played harmonica since he was 17 years old. (imdb.com)

On his passport, he lists his occupation as "Writer". (imdb.com)

Co-owns House of Blues with friend Isaac Tigrett (imdb.com)

Is a victim of syndactylism, a birth defect where several digits are fused together. In Mr. Mike`s Mondo Video (1979), he takes his shoes and socks off on-screen, to reveal this anomaly. (imdb.com)

Roman Catholic of English and French extraction. On his father`s side, he can trace his ancestry to the 15th century. (imdb.com)

Older brother of Peter Aykroyd. Like Peter, an alumnus of the Second City comedy troupe in Toronto. (imdb.com)

Worked as a mail sorter for Canada`s national postal service before he became an actor. (imdb.com)

Was once engaged to Carrie Fisher. (imdb.com)

His grandfather was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (imdb.com)

Is very interested in the supernatural and has an extensive collection of books on the subject. (imdb.com)

Was good friends with John Belushi. (imdb.com)

A police buff, he rides an Ontario Provincial Police motorcycle, collects police badges, sometimes rides shotgun with detectives in squad cars, and owns a business in partnership with several Toronto police officers. (imdb.com)

As an avid blues fan, he hosted a nationally syndicated radio show "House of Blues" as his The Blues Brothers (1980) character Elwood Blues. (imdb.com)